


Geshli's First Storm

by NothingRiddikulus



Category: Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson, Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Child Acquisition, Fluff, Gen, SingleDad!Kaladin but not really because he has bridge four, i just want people to know Lyn is a massive lesbian, little bit of angst too?, set post oathbringer and contains spoilers, there's a mention or two to marriage but otherwise its entirely gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 09:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12837798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NothingRiddikulus/pseuds/NothingRiddikulus
Summary: Holding a child in his arms felt right to Kaladin. The weight of his daughter, her warmth, her small arms thrown gently around his neck; all these things grounded him. Parenting was, he had decided, his real purpose, to nurture and teach and love. It was natural. Older brothers always grew up, and they became fathers.Kaladin adopts a rather unusual child.





	Geshli's First Storm

Holding a child in his arms felt right to Kaladin. The weight of his daughter, her warmth, her small arms thrown gently around his neck; all these things grounded him. Parenting was, he had decided, his real purpose, to nurture and teach and love. It was natural. Older brothers always grew up, and they became fathers.

True, the means by which Kaladin had come by a child were rather unorthodox. He’d come across her, hidden by a group of Fused who didn’t know what to do with her, and he’d taken her in her arms and carried her back to Urithiru with the wind in their hair, dancing among the clouds until her tears had become laughter.

He later discovered one of the group was her mother. Or at least, had been. 

(Oh, how Geshli had clung to him, those first few weeks, weeping while she told him of her mother’s new red eyes and how her voice had changed, and how she no longer hold Geshli in her arms and ignored her pleading rhythms.)

Despite the strange way she’s come into Kaladin’s life, no one was shocked to see he’d adopted a child. No, they were shocked he’d adopted a _Parshendi_ child, a tiny marble skinned toddler who hummed anxiously when she wanted food or sleep or to be held. An instant misfit in Urithiru, where she stayed because she had no where else and wanted no one else but Kaladin, she was soon a member of Bridge Four in all but name. She waved her arms in attempts at katas, and peered over the men’s first attempts at writing. She was dismayed to discover that Sigzil, whose skin best matched the black sections of hers, was not a distant uncle, but found comfort in the presence of Rlain. Lyn’s fiancé, who had spent her younger years teaching herself to fight, took great joy in knowing that the first next generation bridgeman would in fact be a bridgewoman, and a Parshendi one at that. 

Currently, Geshli patted at Kaladin’s shoulder.

‘Down please Kal’, she murmured. His heart swelled with pride at how far her Alethi had come in the seven (almost eight) months she’d been with him. He gently moved her away from his chest and set her on the ground. She smiled and ran off giggling.

Kal smiled fondly at the sight of his daughter’s joyful skip. Her hair, embellished with gems, almost glowed with the help of the sun. Kal put his hand to his head, and wondered if he glowed the same way. He probably did. Since Rlain had taught Geshli how to decorate hair in the Listener style, she’d carefully braided gems into her own each morning in front of a mirror, and recently she’d taken to doing the same with Kaladin’s. The sharing of what little she had of her culture felt like an incredible gift.

And, Kal reflected, the shared hairstyle gave them some kind of family resemblance. Other than hair, Geshli was obviously not his child. Though he supposed most twenty one year olds didn’t have toddlers anyway. Right now Geshli was in Workform, which Rlain had said was one of the better ones for a child. Not that she’d had a choice. Listener babies were taken out in the storms as soon as possible, to receive whatever was given to them. Anything was better than Dullform.

Geshli ran back over to him, attuning Joy. Her hands were closed around a small object. Kaladin made a clumsy attempt at attuning Curiosity, and crouched down to speak to his daughter on her own level.

‘What do you have there, Gesh?’, he asked. 

Geshli opened her hands to reveal a small rock. She didn’t love them like Tien had, but she’d noticed Kaladin liked them and seemed to enjoy giving gifts. Recently, Sigzil had received a lump of charcoal (stolen from Brightness Shallan Kholin’s desk), Renarin a string of beads (obtained from a stall of child’s jewellery stall after asking Kaladin for the spheres), and Drehy a lovingly produced but still rather terrible drawing of him and his new husband with all the children she’d hoped they’d adopt to be her playmates. All were grateful and had thanked Geshli with hugs and gasps of amazement.  
Kaladin was happy to see Geshli playing. They had a more serious obligation later that day.

Geshli had decided it was time to change forms.

~

Kaladin sat in a high tower of Urithiru with Dalinar Kholin, and talked. How strange that this man was now in a way an equal of his. Your perspective on the world changed when you looked after a child, and Kaladin found himself asking for Dalinar’s advice more and more. And Dalinar adored Geshli like a grandchild. Spending time with her seemed to set him at ease, like he felt he was giving back, or making up for something perhaps.

At the other end of the room, Gav and Geshli played together quietly. It was a bizarre sight, but a hopeful one.

‘So she’ll look different’, Dalinar stated, eyes fixed on Geshli. ‘Is that what you’re worried about?’

‘Maybe? I think it would help if I knew _how_ different, but she hasn’t talked to me about it. She’s told Rlain I think but I get the sense its uh…’

‘Private.’

‘Yes, private. I mean its going to influence who she is I suppose. It’s a big decision, lots of pressure.’ Kaladin took an angry breath. ‘Lots of pressure she doesn’t need, she’s still getting over the loss of her storming mother I mean-‘ He burst into tears. 

‘Renarin’s talked to her I think’, Dalinar told him quietly. ‘About losing a mother I mean. Or, is that really the matter? Is there something else?’  
‘Warform’, Kal whispered. ‘I’m terrified. She’ll be able to pick a form for herself for the very first time and she’s grown up around the army. She joins us for katas, Dalinar. How can I live with myself if I’ve turned a child into a soldier?’

Dalinar placed a hand on Kaladin’s shoulder silently. He seemed at a loss for words. The two of them say together for a long while and watched the children play.

~

Geshli and Kaladin set out that evening, and made a camp in the middle of the shattered plains. They waited for the stormwall.

Kaladin hadn’t been sure that he would be allowed to come. Rlain had said Listener children normally did this alone. A child’s first storm was incredibly important. As it turned out, Rlain was relieved Kaladin wanted to go; It wasn’t strictly in keeping with tradition, but it would keep Geshli safer. Many families had broken tradition since the beginning of the war, he confided in Kaladin.

In their small tent, Geshli drew to distract herself, large Workform hands stopping her from achieving the graceful lines and subtle shading she wanted. Her tongue was stuck out in concentration. Kaladin sighed. It made sense really, that she wanted a change. He just hoped she wouldn’t hold a spear with her new, dexterous hands.

Geshli looked up at him, and grinned. She clambered onto his lap and passed him the picture. It was of him, flying through the air with Syl in the form of a massive blade. Kaladin’s stomach curled in on itself but he fought through it and praised his daughter. Geshli gave another smile, this one somewhat forced, and looked away as she attuned Anxiety. Kaladin pulled her tight and rocked her, singing her lullabies that felt both too loud and too quiet as they tried to fill the big empty sky. They were alone, but they had each other, and for a moment, overriding their fear, was love.

~

The storm hit.

~

Geshli had not chosen Warform. Instead, she had become taller and slender, her hair longer and her fingers like those of a musician. Nimbleform, Rlain said, good for artists and scholars. He quickly attuned Awe, and Kaladin tried his best to join in.

Over the days that followed, he struggled to reconcile this new person with his daughter. She was different. Still Geshli but different. Still roughly five years old but somehow more mature. It felt like she’d grown up and he’d missed it and he felt sick to the stomach. 

Watching her play, skirt swirling in the wind, he reflected on how odd it once would have made him feel to see a Parshendi in Alethi clothes. It raised questions. When Geshli grew older, would she cover her safehand? Once that would have revolted him; To cover their bodies like that, to have modesty, to civilised... That implied they had humanity. That they were people. And yet, as his time amongst them had shown him, that was exactly what they were. Or well, if what everyone was saying about the Dawnchant turned out to be true, perhaps ‘humanity’ should no longer be the measuring stick.

He decided he needed to accept this new form, once and for all. It was natural and good for Geshli.

He still felt sick.

He stared at the ground, head hot, and began to panic. How was this so storming hard? How could he not simply fall in love with the new Geshli like Rlain and everyone else? Why was the thought of her growing up so storming terrifying? Why was-

He felt a tap on his shoulder, and bounced back into position, blinking back hot tears. Geshli wrapped her gentle arms around his legs and looked up at him questioningly. He took a breath, and smiled. He loved her so much it hurt. Relieved, Geshli held out a bundle of papers to him and bit her lip as she waited for his feedback. 

Kaladin turned over the papers in his hands. The first was a sheet of writing, words at random copied out from a book. Kaladin was shocked to see how beautiful Geshli’s writing was; still that of a child but neat and stylish. The next was a drawing. It was a simple anatomical study, once again copied from a book, childish but with potential. It was of a human head (though she’d added marbled skin) side on, and was annotated with symptoms of common illnesses. Kaladin’s heart skipped a beat. Was Geshli attempting to study medicine? He attuned Praise, shocking himself with how instinctive it felt. 

‘I want to help people like you, Papa’, Geshli whispered shyly. Kaladin wept, and hugged her tight. Geshli was just the same, nothing had changed! His loving, intelligent baby was simply becoming a loving intelligent young girl. One day she’d be a loving, intelligent woman. 

Geshli was growing up, and Kaladin could not have been more excited.


End file.
